How to hire a senior software quality analyst

How to hire a senior software quality analyst, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior software quality analyst hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a senior software quality analyst job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior software quality analyst
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the senior software quality analyst you need to hire. Certain senior software quality analyst roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A senior software quality analyst's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior software quality analysts from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of senior software quality analysts and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Senior Software Quality Analyst	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Software Quality Analyst		$37-56
   Analyst Lead	The duties of an analyst lead depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis, coordinating with different departments to gather leads and data, reviewing findings, and producing reports and presentations for the stakeholders and other higher-ranking officials... Show more	$35-58
   Test Analyst	The duties of a test analyst depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. In the information technology setting, a test analyst is responsible for testing computer software or hardware to ensure its quality before being released in the market... Show more	$26-42

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • QA
   • Regression
   • Manual Test Cases
   • Test Scripts
   • Java
   • SQL Server
   • Selenium
   • Web Application
   • Jira
   • API
   • Test Execution
   • Test Results
   • Scrum
   • Test Strategy

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage released versions of content using a dedicate SharePoint site to interact with development teams.
   • Perform user acceptance testing (UAT) and report to the developers if any error occur.
   • Involve in creating RTM, UAT, structure test cases and end to end testing with end users.
   • Perform white box testing on API's and store procedures.
   • Participate in analysis, design and development of the UI.
   • Used JIRA for documentation, defect tracking and for generating defect reports.

   More senior software quality analyst duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior software quality analyst job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A senior software quality analyst salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a senior software quality analyst in Hawaii may be lower than in California, and an entry-level senior software quality analyst usually earns less than a senior-level senior software quality analyst. Additionally, a senior software quality analyst with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average senior software quality analyst salary

   $95,800yearly

   $46.06 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior software quality analyst salary

   $77,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

   Average senior software quality analyst salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$112,704	$54
   2	District of Columbia	$107,523	$52
   3	Massachusetts	$105,188	$51
   4	Maryland	$103,020	$50
   5	New York	$102,898	$49
   6	Arizona	$101,287	$49
   7	Oregon	$101,084	$49
   8	North Carolina	$98,710	$47
   9	Minnesota	$97,796	$47
   10	Ohio	$97,267	$47
   11	Virginia	$96,909	$47
   12	Illinois	$94,918	$46
   13	Texas	$93,656	$45
   14	Iowa	$92,444	$44
   15	Wisconsin	$91,777	$44
   16	Michigan	$90,867	$44
   17	Washington	$90,732	$44
   18	Utah	$90,118	$43
   19	Georgia	$89,538	$43
   20	Florida	$88,269	$42

   Average senior software quality analyst salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Square	$121,198	$58.27
   2	Genentech	$113,379	$54.51	15
   3	Bloomberg	$111,525	$53.62	18
   4	Medidata	$110,767	$53.25
   5	Intuit	$110,203	$52.98	41
   6	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$106,757	$51.33	866
   7	Southwest Airlines	$105,349	$50.65	1
   8	CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield	$103,222	$49.63	10
   9	HSN	$102,058	$49.07
   10	Apollo Education Group	$100,713	$48.42
   11	Grandbridge Real Estate Capital	$100,689	$48.41	169
   12	AutoZone	$99,627	$47.90	2
   13	Publix	$99,496	$47.83	25
   14	Experian Data Quality	$99,103	$47.65
   15	McKesson	$99,025	$47.61	38
   16	Retail	$98,223	$47.22
   17	Block and	$98,193	$47.21	17
   18	Alliant Credit Union	$98,171	$47.20	1
   19	Genesys	$98,115	$47.17	5
   20	Sherwin-Williams	$98,052	$47.14	11

4. Writing a senior software quality analyst job description

   A good senior software quality analyst job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a senior software quality analyst job description:

   Senior software quality analyst job description example

   Aetna, a CVS Health company is seeking a self motivated, experienced professional to support our IT team to ensure the delivery of quality products using modern technologies. In this position, you will work in teams with other developers, designers, testers, and project managers to deliver quality software on-time based on functionality requested by our business partners.-Build, test, and automate functionality based on requirements provided by our business partners.-Be able to work in a fast paced, high energy team that utilizing CI/CD best practices.-Update user stories with estimates and implementation details.-Participate in any of the phases of the development lifecycle.-Detailed orientated and excellent communication skills-Skilled in BDD methodology mindset.-Ability to work on simultaneous projects of varied complexities.-Act as an overall test lead during test execution and review/analysis of results.
   Pay Range
   
   The typical pay range for this role is:
   
   Minimum: 60,000
   
   Maximum: 128,700
   
   Please keep in mind that this range represents the pay range for all positions in the job grade within which this position falls. The actual salary offer will take into account a wide range of factors, including location.
   
   Required Qualifications
   
   3+ years experience in Quality Assurance3+ years experience in Test Automation3+ years experience in Hadoop/HIVE or DB2
   
   COVID Requirements
   
   COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement
   
   CVS Health requires certain colleagues to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (including any booster shots if required), where allowable under the law, unless they are approved for a reasonable accommodation based on disability, medical condition, religious belief, or other legally recognized reasons that prevents them from being vaccinated.
   
   You are required to have received at least one COVID-19 shot prior to your first day of employment and to provide proof of your vaccination status or apply for a reasonable accommodation within the first 10 days of your employment. Please note that in some states and roles, you may be required to provide proof of full vaccination or an approved reasonable accommodation before you can begin to actively work.
   
   Preferred Qualifications
   
   -Bachelor's degree (B.S.) in Computer Science or related technical discipline.-Highly skilled in relational database concepts and complex SQL development-Experience with BDD methodology-Time management and organizational skills-Excellent communication skills-Healthcare Experience/Understanding-Data Warehousing-Understanding and ability to follow security policies and procedures.-Understanding of both Agile and Waterfall methodologies. -GCP Certification a plus
   
   Education
   
   -Bachelor's degree.
   
   Business Overview
   
   Bring your heart to CVS HealthEvery one of us at CVS Health shares a single, clear purpose: Bringing our heart to every moment of your health. This purpose guides our commitment to deliver enhanced human-centric health care for a rapidly changing world. Anchored in our brand - with heart at its center - our purpose sends a personal message that how we deliver our services is just as important as what we deliver.Our Heart At Work Behaviors™ support this purpose. We want everyone who works at CVS Health to feel empowered by the role they play in transforming our culture and accelerating our ability to innovate and deliver solutions to make health care more personal, convenient and affordable. We strive to promote and sustain a culture of diversity, inclusion and belonging every day. CVS Health is an affirmative action employer, and is an equal opportunity employer, as are the physician-owned businesses for which CVS Health provides management services. We do not discriminate in recruiting, hiring, promotion, or any other personnel action based on race, ethnicity, color, national origin, sex/gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right senior software quality analyst for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with senior software quality analysts they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit senior software quality analysts who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior software quality analyst job on Zippia to find and recruit senior software quality analyst candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit senior software quality analysts, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   If your interviews with senior software quality analyst applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior software quality analyst

   Once you have selected a candidate for the senior software quality analyst position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new senior software quality analyst first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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